Omicron is a ‘different beast’ in kids, but it doesn’t seem more dangerous, disease experts say

Omicron is a ‘different beast’ in kids, but it doesn’t seem more dangerous, disease experts say

“The virus is a different beast right now in terms of the clinical manifestations that we’re seeing in children,” Dr. Erlinda Ulloa, [assistant professor of medicine], a pediatric infectious disease specialist at the University of California, Irvine, told Insider. Ulloa said children with COVID-19 at her hospital are reporting more overall symptoms than they were with the Alpha and Delta variants. She’s also seeing more instances of croup and bronchiolitis — infections commonly associated with respiratory viruses — among unvaccinated kids under age 5.